FSU History College of Journalism/Law/Engineering

FSU College of Engineering

1970s

1972

FSU’s College of Engineering Sciences closes.

The college was approved as The Joint Institute of Engineering on February 11, 1982, but presidents Smith (FAMU) and Sliger (FSU) wanted enrollment to begin and classes to start in August of that same year. The initial faculty—cobbled from other departments across the two universities—was excited, worked hard, and were dedicated to the Institute’s success. However, a lot of people were cynical. They thought this unheard-of collaboration would never work. Well, the facts show they were wrong. The college survived and developed into a research powerhouse with world-renowned centers and research affiliations, all the while achieving extraordinary accomplishments in the advancement of African-Americans and women in engineering.

http://president.fsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/news_engineering.pdf

It began in the fall of 1982 with just 35 students scattered across two university campuses. From those humble beginnings, the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, now academic home to more than 2,300 students and a state-of-the-art facility, is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a unique center of academic achievement in the nation. “The college was an experiment that had never been tried before: a collaboration between a Research I university and a historically black college that was focused mainly on undergraduate education,” says Ching-Jen “Marty” Chen, who has served as dean of the College of Engineering since 1992. “That we have not only survived, but thrived, for 25 years certainly is a cause for celebration.” The College of Engineering wasn’t FSU’s first foray into the field. Engineering studies got their start at FSU in 1959 with the creation of a new department of engineering science. The department later was upgraded to the School of Engineering Science. However, economic concerns (Sure Jan), coupled with cutbacks in the U.S. space program and a surplus of engineers in the state, led FSU administrators to eliminate the program in 1972. By the late 1970s, engineering education in Florida once again needed a boost—and both FSU and FAMU stepped forward with proposals to launch their own colleges of engineering. Ultimately, the state Board of Regents, which oversaw Florida’s public universities, recommended an innovative and cost-saving approach: establishing a joint engineering college that benefited from FSU’s research capabilities while also reflecting FAMU’s commitment to increasing career opportunities for women and minorities within the engineering profession

https://www.tallahasseemagazine.com/college-town-times-three/

A law school was originally established at Florida A&M in the 1950s during the presidency of George W. Gore Jr. to avoid integration at the University of Florida’s law school. Florida’s Board of Regents decided to open a law school at FSU in 1968; because of a law saying courses could not be duplicated between the two schools, FAMU’s law school was eliminated.

The School of Journalism and the FAMU-FSU Joint Institute of Engineering were established in 1982. After a state mandate outlawed the duplication of programs at FAMU and FSU, FAMU gained an industrial arts program but lost its home economics department.

https://eng.famu.fsu.edu/timeline/historical-foundations

Also in the 1960s came the closing of the FAMU Law School, established in 1949. The state cited financial reasons for closing the school, but only a few years later, granted a law program at FSU. The turn of events created much bitterness and tension between the two schools, and left FAMU with little confidence in the state government’s ability to protect its interests and identity.

By 1959, the physics department at FSU had spawned many new scientific programs, including the Department of Engineering Science. By 1972, though, economic concerns coupled with space program cutbacks and a surplus of engineers in Florida led FSU to eliminate the engineering program. In 1976, FAMU established a new College of Science and Technology with a division of industrial and engineering technology. By the late 1970s studies showed that engineering education in Florida needed boosting and both FAMU and FSU were eager to help. Between 1981-1982, both FAMU and FSU submitted proposals to the Board of Regents for engineering programs. Neither proposal was accepted, and the legislature could not avoid the obvious conflict of the universities’ proximity to each other and the tensions that would arise if one were chosen over the other. Many saw the great potential in two universities like FAMU and FSU collaborating. Both universities soon understood that if they wanted engineering, they must work together.

Florida State University Colleges and Schools History

https://www.ir.fsu.edu/Factbooks/2019-20/FSU_Colleges.pdf

School of Journalism 1950 (Closed in 1959)

School of Engineering Science 1963 (Closed in 1972)

College of Law 1966 

FAMU/FSU College of Engineering 1981

In 1949, the Florida State School of Journalism was established. Roughly a decade later the Board of Controls (now the Board of Regents) decided to eliminate the school. The reasons for this are sketchy at best and not well documented. The official reason was to eliminate "duplication" (at the time UF also had a School of Journalism).

The Tallahassee Democrat wrote on this subject back in 1973 calling for the reinstatement of the FSU School of Journalism. An Opportunity for FSU.

FAMU was later granted a College of Journalism.